MATT and Fiona Noakes, Marlborough, near Rockhampton, are becoming more and more well known for their Smokin’ Yak enterprise – Brahman hump served up for the masses, usually to sell-out crowds. A Brahman is a breed of cattle, characterised by the large ‘hump’ situated near their neck, like below. Traditionally it was a piece of the beast which, though aesthetically pleasing, was never eaten. But it’s hard to argue with the raging success of The Smokin’ Yak, which has just launched a frozen product to give the public the chance to cook the hump at home themselves. It is the first step in what Mr Noakes hopes will become a larger distribution of the unique product. “The Brahman Hump seems to be bringing customers in but here at AgGrow this year we launched a frozen product which is sold pre-cooked so you can take it home, re-heat, and have The Smokin’ Yak experience at home,” he said. “We’re getting supported by MLA to get some research done to see if we can get a product out into the general marketplace, where to position it, how to get the processing right. “We think we’ve got the cooking pretty right, but how to get it packaged to maintain good shelf life. “The meats that we cook, because they do have a bit of moisture and collagen in them, they do reheat really well.” At AgGrow for the third year, The Smokin’ Yak again sold out of 180kg of Brahman hump – but it had nothing on Beef. He said the business was still on a high from Beef Australia 2018, an international celebration of the industry, where they sold three tonnes of meat. “Beef was huge. We did three tonne of meat for the week, which is pretty close to 4000 meals which means we had a meal going out every 28 seconds in the restaurant at Beef, and we never had a complaint,” Mr Noakes said. “Just to see people lining up and asking for something that is so uniquely Brahman, that’s what we were all about. “We’re getting people that aren’t scared to eat a Brahman product now.” The hump is supplied by Teys Australia, a processing company. Queensland Country Life

Brahman hump could be the next big thing

Matt Noakes, The Smokin' Yak, in Emerald at the AgGrow Field Days. Photos - Kelly Butterworth.

MATT and Fiona Noakes, Marlborough, near Rockhampton, are becoming more and more well known for their Smokin’ Yak enterprise – Brahman hump served up for the masses, usually to sell-out crowds.

A Brahman is a breed of cattle, characterised by the large ‘hump’ situated near their neck, like below.

The hump of a Brahman bull.

Traditionally it was a piece of the beast which, though aesthetically pleasing, was never eaten.

But it’s hard to argue with the raging success of The Smokin’ Yak, which has just launched a frozen product to give the public the chance to cook the hump at home themselves.

It is the first step in what Mr Noakes hopes will become a larger distribution of the unique product.

“The Brahman Hump seems to be bringing customers in but here at AgGrow this year we launched a frozen product which is sold pre-cooked so you can take it home, re-heat, and have The Smokin’ Yak experience at home,” he said.

The new frozen product on offer.

“We’re getting supported by MLA to get some research done to see if we can get a product out into the general marketplace, where to position it, how to get the processing right.

“We think we’ve got the cooking pretty right, but how to get it packaged to maintain good shelf life.

“The meats that we cook, because they do have a bit of moisture and collagen in them, they do reheat really well.”

At AgGrow for the third year, The Smokin’ Yak again sold out of 180kg of Brahman hump – but it had nothing on Beef.

He said the business was still on a high from Beef Australia 2018, an international celebration of the industry, where they sold three tonnes of meat.

“Beef was huge. We did three tonne of meat for the week, which is pretty close to 4000 meals which means we had a meal going out every 28 seconds in the restaurant at Beef, and we never had a complaint,” Mr Noakes said.

“Just to see people lining up and asking for something that is so uniquely Brahman, that’s what we were all about.

“We’re getting people that aren’t scared to eat a Brahman product now.”